


Tagged

by cheshire6845



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, Laser Tag, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-10
Updated: 2018-09-10
Packaged: 2019-07-10 17:48:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15954431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cheshire6845/pseuds/cheshire6845
Summary: The OUAT crew go play laser tag - Regina has reservations.





	Tagged

**Author's Note:**

> Just a fun little one shot after I saw a writing prompt on Pinterest.

It’s not even Henry’s birthday; it’s his make-up birthday party for the birthday she missed the year he’d been in New York with Emma. It’s completely and utterly ridiculous; she’s sure she’ll hate every minute of it, but she promised.

As they strap on the ridiculous over the shoulder vests with sensors and attached weapons, she notices that Emma is completely and utterly delighted. So is Charming. Snow looks dubious but willing to try. Mulan is inspecting her weapon and taking the idea way too seriously while the handful of kids Henry’s age all appear scared to death at going up against battle tested adults that are real life heroes.

Ironically, the only person that looks as unhappy as her about the whole thing is Hook. As she tightens the straps on her vest, she smirks at the idea of shooting, or as the safety speech referred to it “deactivating”, him.

“All set, Mom?” Henry asks, bounding over to her, showing off far more enthusiasm than his usual teenage angst would normally allow.

She holds up her laser gun gamely, examining it. “It’s not my preferred weapon of choice.”

“She’ll be fine, kid.” Emma joins them, dropping her arm across Henry’s shoulders, both women noticing she won’t be able to do that for much longer the way he keeps growing. “You know as well as I do once she gets in there, everyone will be too scared to go near her.”

“I wouldn’t count on that,” Snow says, hoisting her own laser gun. There’s a far too innocent smirk on her face and Charming stands grinning at her shoulder. Hook grunts in agreement from somewhere behind her.

Emma glances around at the adults then the kids all huddled together opposite them. “This is going to be a slaughter.” She points her gun at Regina. “Remember our bet!”

“Oh, I remember, Miss Swan.” Between the two of them, the one with the most “kills” wins. Deactivations of the teenagers didn’t count. The wager would be a favor owed to the victor to be claimed at any time or place. It is the bet more than anything that sparked Regina’s competitive side and has her dressed ready to compete in all black clothes and low heeled black boots.

Henry pretends to adjust her shoulder sensor as he leans in close to her ear. “You remember the plan?”

“Of course, dear,” she replies. She'll go for the high ground and take out everyone approaching her or him. She smirks at him. “I did lead entire armies into battle, you know.”

He just grins at her. Upon learning that Emma had been consistently trying to goad his mom into participating in his birthday party, he and Regina had begun making their own plans. Emma only thought that the bet between them was her idea, but it had actually been Regina’s with Henry suggesting later to Emma that she should challenge Regina. The mother and son had also spent several hours watching youtube videos for hints, tricks, and strategies to be successful at laser tag. And if they’d made a special trip to the laser tag facility the weekend before, that should just be considered preparation and not cheating.

“All right, folks!” The facility’s game manager announces from near the entrance. “Are. You. Ready?”

There is a mumbled sound of approval and nerves as everyone grips their weapons and crowds closer to the door.

“Oh, come on! Let’s try that again!” the worker shouts. “Are. You. Ready!”

Regina is pretty sure Emma and Charming cheer the loudest, but the teenagers all seem to be open mouthed and laughing too. Snow and Mulan, however, seem to ready themselves into a calmer state as though they are actually about to wage battle. Hook just gives her a dirty look.

Snow looks over her shoulder at her former stepmother and raises an eyebrow. “Are you ready, Regina?”

“Is that a challenge, Princess?” Regina shoots back, far more amused at the schoolteacher’s audacity than she would have expected.

Snow doesn’t have a chance to answer before the door to the course is flung open and the gathered group crowds inside. Ideally, Regina would have liked to have been first through the door and onto the course but anticipating the teenagers eagerness, she emerges last. Unsurprisingly, Hook turns immediately to fire at her, but she’s been expecting it and easily disarms him.

She keeps her back to the wall and slides to the left. Emma and Charming charge up the middle of the course, firing as they go, scrambling teenagers in every direction, until a well-aimed shot from Henry disables Charming. Of course, Henry is then wide open to a shot from Emma, until Violet hits the Savior unexpectedly.

“Seriously?!” Emma shouts as the teenagers disappear back into the course, laughing.

Regina continues making her way to the back corner where she knows there is a well-concealed stairwell leading to the upper level. She’s almost there when she spots Snow crouched behind a secondary wall, lying in wait for a target to move past her. Her first impulse is to fire immediately, but she hesitates, knowing Mulan is likely playing guard to the Princess even in this fake environment. Sure enough, when she peeks around the corner a little further she can see the warrior guarding their approach.

Regina glances towards the stairs and considers bypassing the duo completely, but that just isn’t in her. She’d rather get hit by Mulan than to pass up a chance to “kill” Snow White. Then again, she knows this world and this course better than Mulan. The warrior is unaccustomed to the fake walls of a place like this. She has no idea she’s sitting right next to a stairwell that would give Regina the high ground.

Feeling just a bit the Evil Queen, Regina takes careful aim and deactivates Snow White with one shot before ducking back behind her wall. She circles backwards and around, taking out Paige unexpectedly as she almost runs into the teenager, before arriving again exactly where Mulan had been. She shoots the warrior in the back and then gleefully hurries up her intended stairwell.

As soon as she gets to the upper floor, she tries to listen and discern if she is the only one that has made it this far. Sensing no one else, she peers over a wall and sees Henry and Violet pinned down in a corner by Charming and two teenagers. Clearly any sort of established teams has gone straight out the window. She sees a flash of blonde hair scamper between two obstacles closer to the entrance, and watches as two other teenagers are moving cautiously forwards with no clue that their elementary schoolteacher is closing in on them from behind. Hook is nowhere to be seen.

A gleeful shout from Charming draws her attention back to the first group. Henry and Violet appear ready to make a run for it so Regina helps them out by firing off a quick burst that disables Charming and distracts the other two. Then she hears the chirp, chirp of a laser gun not her own and ducks back as red-light streaks by her. She doesn’t stay put, staying low she scurries further into the course with less grace than she would have wanted anyone to witness. She can hear her attacker muttering curses and knows it’s Hook that has tracked her down. He probably hasn’t bothered with fighting anyone else and has simply come straight after her.

There isn’t as much space on the upper deck as there is down below; once you are backed into a corner, there are no exits on the upper floor. She doubts Hook knows that as she makes just enough noise for him to chase as she leads him around a partial wall. Before he can clear it, she sticks out her leg and trips him.

“Bloody hell, woman.”

She laughs. It’s a clear violation of the rules and decent game play but to be somewhat fair, she doesn’t shoot him while he’s down. She waits until he’s back on his feet.

“That’s cheating,” the pirate snarls, the sensors on his vest indicating he is disabled again and out of lives. She isn’t the only one that’s “killed” him.  

“Villain,” Regina says simply with a shrug. Then she jumps back as a set of lasers come tracing up the far stairwell. She fires blindly in their direction.

“Mom!”

Oops. “Sorry, Henry,” she laughs and escapes down the stairs she’d come up. The upper deck is becoming way too crowded.

Her black boots barely touched the floor when a hand wraps around her upper arm and drags her backwards. A small yelp escapes her as she hadn’t been expecting physical contact.

“Sssshhh,” Emma hisses, then points out her parents hiding behind two brightly lit barrels. Laser beams paint the wall behind them as teenagers aim way too high.

Then Emma pulls Regina even further back until they are against the back wall and out of sight of the Charmings. “What are-?”

She’s off balance as Emma spins her around, pushing her back against the wall. The laser vests clack against each other as the blonde traps Regina’s gun hand against the wall. “Emma!”

“Relax, your Majesty.”

Regina has only a second to see the grin on Emma’s face before the distance between them disappears. Emma leans in, her mouth descending onto Regina’s, their lips mashing together in a quick unexpected meeting. Emma pulls back after a second and with neon lights and the sounds of an arcade filling the background, Regina surges forward to recapture her. The second time, mouths open and tongues dance against each other. When they finally break in order to capture their breath, Regina asks, “What about Hook?”

“I broke up with him last week,” Emma shrugs. “Oh, and sorry about this.”

The alarms go off on Regina’s vest signaling she’s been disabled. She looks down to see Emma’s laser gun pointed at her chest. For a brief second, she falters. Surely, Emma wouldn’t have…not just to win…

“Had to do that,” Emma confesses with a grin before letting her gun drop and reaching for Regina’s face with both hands. She kisses the stunned woman again. “But it wasn’t…” She nips her lip, “the only reason.” She brings their mouths together again, relieved when Regina finally responds, rejoining her as they completely forget their surroundings.

The alarm on Emma’s laser vest goes off. She breaks off from the kiss, realizing she’s been shot by none other than her own mother as Snow shouts gleefully behind them. She doesn’t move right away, looks down at Regina who’s vest and weapon have been reactivated in the time they’ve been making out like teenagers. She raises an eyebrow in question and Regina nods.

Emma steps to the side, revealing Regina to a stunned Snow and Charming right before Regina shoots both of them.

Amidst shouts of “What the-?” and “Hey!” the gong sounds and the lights of the arena come up to normal as the game ends. Regina smirks at them both, rests her gun against her shoulder, grabs Emma’s hand in hers and saunters towards the exit.

No one even bothers to look at the leader board and confirm that Regina has definitely won the game.


End file.
